This invention relates to multi-lumen hose having at least one inner planar partition dividing the hose into a plurality of lumen and to methods of manufacturing such hose.
Multi-lumen hose are known to the art and are used in many different applications including medical, commercial and industrial applications. For many of such applications, the peripheral wall of the hose is corrugated to provide the hose with greater flexibility and ease of use.
More particularly, this invention relates to multi-lumen hose, and by way of example and not by way of limitation, dual-lumen hose of the type used to communicate anesthesia gas from an anesthesia machine or breathing gas such as oxygen, or oxygen enriched gas, from a ventilator, to a patient""s mask or endotracheal tube, and thereby to the patient, and for communicating exhalation gas from the patient back to the anesthesia machine or ventilator. Flexible multi-lumen dual-lumen hose or tubing, sometimes referred to as dual passageway or dual air passageway, hose, tubing or connector pipe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,746 and 5,996,639.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,746 entitled ANESTHETIC AND RESPIRATOR BREATHING CIRCUIT DEVICE, John R. Sikora inventor, patented Jun. 16, 1992, is incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein. The Sikora patent, FIGS. 3 and 4, discloses a multi-passage or lumen flexible connector pipe (hose) 30 including outer walls 22 and 21 and an inner wall, or inner partition, 25 dividing the pipe into passages or lumen 31 and 32. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the outer walls of the pipe 30 are shown to be corrugated, and the inner wall or partition 25 also is shown to be corrugated. The Sikora patent teaches in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 that anesthesia gas from the anesthetic machine 8 is communicated to the patient""s mask 11 through the passage or lumen 32 provided in the pipe 30 and that exhalation gas from the patient""s mask 11 is communicated back to the anesthetic machine through the passageway 31 formed in the pipe 30. In connection with FIGS. 2 and 3, the Sikora patent teaches that breathing gas, such as an enriched gaseous mixture of oxygen, is communicated to the patient""s mask 11 through the passage or lumen 32 formed in the connector pipe 30 and that exhalation gas from the patient""s mask 11 is communicated back to the respirator 15 through the passage or lumen 31 formed in the connector pipe 30. This patent also discloses that the corrugated dividing wall 25, FIG. 3, is a chordal dividing wall which divides the cross-section of the flexible tubular member into a larger and a smaller cross-section so as to provide first and second fluid flow paths of different sizes through the connector pipe or hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,639 entitled MULTIPLE COMPARTMENT CORRUGATED HOSE, Leo Gans et al., patented Dec. 7, 1999, is incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein. This patent teaches that it is an improvement over the multi-compartment hose disclosed in the Sikora patent and discloses a flexible multi-lumen hose including a corrugated peripheral wall and a corrugated inner partition. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 of this patent, the hose 10 includes a corrugated peripheral wall 20 and a corrugated inner partition 70 dividing the hose into two lumen 50 and 60 better seen in FIG. 1.
Design Patents Des. 405,522 and Des. 424,687, patented Feb. 9, 2000 and May 9, 2000, respectively, disclose multiple embodiments of ornamental designs of breathing tubes for conveying oxygen or anesthesia gas to lungs and conveying exhaled gas away from lungs of a patient, Richard Hoenig inventor of both of these design patents, and these design patents are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention; these design patents are incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein.
Also known to the prior art are various ways of manufacturing corrugated hoses such as by the well-known continuous blow molding or vacuum assisted blow molding methods. One such manufacturing method, as noted in the incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,639 patent, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,305 entitled APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF HOLLOW ARTICLES, P. H. Seckel inventor, patented Nov. 22, 1966, and which patent is incorporated herein as if fully reproduced herein.
In light of the foregoing background and prior art patents, it will be understood that this invention is particularly useful as flexible, multi-lumen hose or tubing of the type known to the art for communicating breathing or anesthesia gas to a patient and for communicating the patient""s exhalation gas away from the patient. Such hose or tubing is sometimes referred to in the art as breathing tube, breathing circuit tubing, hose or connector pipe, and all such terms will be referred to hereinafter and in the appended claims as hose.
Accordingly, it is believed that there is a need in the art for a hose, particularly flexible corrugated hose, having at least one substantially planar inner partition dividing the hose into a plurality of lumen, and methods of manufacturing the same.
It is the object of the present invention to satisfy the foregoing need in the hose art.
A multi-lumen hose embodying the present invention may include a corrugated peripheral wall including an interior area and having an inner surface which defines a diameter; and at least one substantially planar inner partition extending from the inner surface across at least half of the diameter of the peripheral wall so as to divide the interior area into a plurality of lumen. A method of manufacturing a multi-lumen embodying the present invention may include the steps of forming a hot multi-lumen parison, said parison including a hollow cylindrical peripheral portion with an inner surface defining a diameter and at least one substantially flat planar partition extending from the inner surface and across at least half of the diameter of the peripheral portion, the inner partition dividing an interior area of said parison into a plurality of lumen; expanding the peripheral portion radially outward to cause the inner partition to expand in width and decrease in thickness medially and to decrease in thickness greater contiguously to the peripheral portion; and the greater decrease in thickness contiguously to the peripheral portion causing the inner partition to remain substantially planar upon expanding in width during radial expanding of the peripheral portion.